A-level grades are still the best pointer to how students will do on their degree courses, the Government's university admissions task force said today.

But because they cannot predict someone's potential with complete accuracy, and because the most popular courses increasingly attract straight-A students, other measures will have to be used, it said in a report.

There is deep disagreement about whether working-class students who went to poorly performing state schools should be admitted with lower grades than private school pupils, but the task force warned all sides they would have to compromise.